Category: Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or light entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
Advertiser: MASTERCARD
Product/Service: MASTERCARD
Agency: ESPN INTERNATIONAL
Agency: McCANN WORLDGROUP
Director/International Marketing Solutions: Esteban Apraez (ESPN International)
Vice President/International Content Development: Juan Alfonso (ESPN International)
Senior Vice President/Marketing - Latin America & Caribbean: Edgardo Tettamanti (MasterCard Worldwide)
Director/International Ad Sales: Alfonso Cueto (ESPN International)
Media placement: TV Campaign - ESPN Latin America, ESPN Brazil - April 16, 2011
Media placement: TV - Studio Show Integration - ESPN Latin America, ESPN Brazil - April 8, 2011
Media placement: Online Microsite - Espndeportes.com, Espn.com.br - April 10, 2011
Media placement: Social Media - Facebook, Twitter - April 10, 2011
Media placement: Press Release - Latin America Media Outlets - April 15, 2011
Campaign Description
In Latin America, the marketing community is increasingly embracing branded content and entertainment. Portada, the leading source on Latin Marketing and Media, said of branded entertainment in June 2011, “at its best, it provides a competitive advantage to the marketer and is a powerful equity builder for its brands”. (http://www.portada-online.com/article.aspx?aid=8142)
In this environment, it has become more important than ever for marketers and brands to work more closely and effectively with media owners. Media companies, after all, are the experts in creating, managing, distributing and marketing content – and most importantly, they understand their audience, and understand how to best access and engage with them. This shift from the traditional advertising model (into what Portada has labelled the ‘post advertising age’) has empowered media owners to assume an agency-role, consulting brands on how to showcase their personality by “[creating] quality, engaging, entertaining, and informative content” (Ryan Thrasher, general counsel and regional manager Latin America at Enveritas, a global Web content marketing firm).
It is this trend towards effective branded content that paved the way for ESPN’s Capitales del Futbol, presentado por MasterCard.
Effectiveness
In an effort to reach Latin American football fans, MasterCard approached us (ESPN), the region’s most popular pan-regional sports media company, in hopes of mitigating what was arguably their greatest marketplace disadvantage - their main competitor, Visa, unquestionably owned live sporting events.
Therefore, we set out to create something for our client that enabled them to connect and engage with fans on an emotional level, a level not achieved through a traditional ‘spots & dots’ media-heavy approach (Visa). We needed to craft a platform that made the consumer say “MasterCard understands me”.
The result was ‘Capitales del Futbol, presentado por MasterCard’, the first ever documentary series profiling 4 of the greatest (most Priceless) football capitals in the world (Buenos Aires, Madrid, Milan, Rio de Janeiro). This Primetime TV series empowered our client to own something more powerful than a traditional sponsorship; it would allow MasterCard to own the passion of the Latin American football fan. Simultaneously, we would help them address their business objectives to drive transactions and support local retail partners around the world as part of their ‘Priceless’ campaign.
The next task was to satisfy the client’s business objectives - drive transactions and engage local retail partners - by integrating the brand into the programme without diminishing the story. Our solution was 3x ‘Al Visitar (When You Visit)’ vignettes per episode, highlighting MasterCard’s preferred partners in each capital. The vignettes ran within content, showcasing the best places to eat, shop, and stay in each city, using MasterCard as the tool that best enhances the experience.
Finally, we needed to generate as many eyeballs to the series as possible – so we created a comprehensive multimedia campaign using our renowned portfolio of assets while extending syndication rights to non-traditional venues, such as commercial flight screens, hotels’ on-demand content, and other platforms.
Implementation
A comprehensive media model was created for the series, using ESPN’s portfolio of assets, with MasterCard presence throughout. Including:
- 3 month media plan across ESPN’s TV & Digital Platforms
- Over 800 tune-in promo spots, with MasterCard branding
- Micro-sites on ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com.br, featuring exclusive ‘Capitales’-related editorial content
- Promotional support on key ESPN studio shows (Fútbol Picante, Fuera de Juego, Cronometro, Los Capitanes) and live soccer matches
- Social Media integration, encouraging user interaction
- Presenting credits
- Vast PR coverage
- ESPN Magazine coverage & promotion in Mexico & Brazil
- ESPN Radio coverage & promotion
Outcome
The show was watched by over 7m viewers across Latin America. It was a ratings success, spending 4 straight weeks as a top 10 most watched programme on ESPN networks.
Furthermore, an ESPN Fan Forum study showed that 62% of viewers were more likely to use their MasterCard after watching Capitales. That number grew to 77% of Mexican viewers. The same forum responded overwhelmingly favourably to the programme, with 99% of viewers saying they enjoyed the first ‘Capitales del Futbol’.
ESPN & MasterCard have renewed the deal for a Season 2, further proof to the success of the campaign.